What Is Obesity
Obesity
is emerging as a health epidemic around the world. According to the
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is rapidly
spreading across all regions and demographic groups. The latest
figures from the NZ Health Information Service indicate that 17% of
the population is considered obese. An additional 35% are considered
overweight.
Obesity is an excess of total body fat, which results from caloric intake that exceeds energy usage. A measurement used to assess health risks of obesity is Body Mass Index (BMI).
Find out more about Body Mass Index BMI.
The American Obesity Association reports that obese individuals have a 50-100% increased risk of death as compared to normal weight individuals, with 300,000 to 587,000 deaths each year. This substantial increase in health risks has made obesity the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States.